One of the great republican political families in Westchester wants to continue its public service. In the Town of Eastchester, incumbent Supervisor Anthony S. Colvaita was recently endorsed by the Eastchester Republican Town Committee for another term leading the town.
According to Eastchester GOP Chairman Louis Red, “The entire Town Committee, including the Bronxville and Tuckahoe committees, showed enormous support for Supervisor Colavita and the entire 2019 ticket and are fully committed to working with them so that the town and its two villages may continue progressing in the right direction.”
Joining Colavita on the republican ticket in Eastchester will be Town Councilmen Glenn Bellitto and Joe Dooley, Town Clerk Linda Doherty Laird, Receiver of Taxes Rocco Cacciola and Town Justices Janet Calano and Fred Salanitro.
Colavita thanked the committee for its nomination and endorsement and pledged to keep delivering excellent services and to keep spending and taxes in check, citing the tax increase for next year at less than 1 percent. Colavita also indicated that his experience will be utilized for the complex challenges that lie ahead for the Town of Eastchester and its two villages.
Colavita is seeking an eighth, two-year term as supervisor. His years managing the Town of Eastchester have been about delivering services to the people of Eastchester, Bronxville and Tuckahoe efficiently and effectively, and without publicity or fanfare, or any controversy.
Over the years, Colavita has easily won his re-election contests. Two years ago, he defeated democrat Mike Denning by a 55 to 45 percent vote in the closest election between a democratic challenger and a republican incumbent in Eastchester in decades.
The post of Eastchester supervisor has remained in republican hands for more than a generation, including former republican Eastchester Supervisors Jim Cavanaugh, and Anthony J. Colavita, the father of the current supervisor, serving from 1970-81.
Denning, who has quietly challenged Colavita more than once, received his best result in 2017, the year of the blue wave of democratic, progressive enthusiasm in Westchester. Other republicans in Eastchester and Bronxville survived the blue wave in ’17 in addition to Colavita. Republican County Legislator Gordon Burrows won re-election by a similar result, 54 to 46 percent, but County Legislator Sheila Marcotte lost her re-election bid to democrat Damon Maher two years ago.
One issue that Colavita has spoken out on over the years is the state imposing unfunded mandates on local governments. Recently, Colavita spoke at a New York State budget hearing against funding cuts to municipalities in Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s proposed budget.
“Wake up people! I attended the NYS budget hearing in Greenburgh sponsored by the NYS senators in our region to protest against the governor’s budget, which cuts $181,000 of funding for Eastchester, wrote Colavita on Facebook. “The recent legislation and executive orders passed in Albany need to be paid for and therefore towns like ours-which have strong financial health-are losing our funding”
“We have made tough decisions and taken our lumps when making cuts in our spending and cutting costs while maintaining services. Towns that have financial problems get to keep their aid! So if you consolidate positions and departments, share services and make joint purchases, never exceed the tax cap, reduce your full time staff by 25%, secure a Triple AAA Moody’s rating and appear in the top 10 percent on the NYS comptroller’s list of the best fiscally managed towns, you get no aid. Eastchester residents pay a hell of a lot more to Albany then we get back.”
“It took me 10 years to get White Plains Road paved and part of it we paved! The loss of that aid amount translates to a little above 1 percent tax increase right off the bat, before putting a pencil to paper for our next budget. We have also spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on unfunded state mandates from Albany. Wake up people! Contact your state reps and let them know enough is enough,” wrote Colavita.
